I’m thinking of getting involved with my son. They have a club in derby and seem to offer all kinds of great projects.
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Not currently but I grew up in 4H was the Club President and County President. I’ve done some sewing with the local chapters when we had Boomerang Bags. They offer a good variety of programing.
Whats it like? Weekly meetups with stuff in between?
It is really based on how the club is set up. We had a monthly club meetings then project meetings were in addition to that. There is a lot of freedom with how projects are run and can be tailored to fit your needs. Some projects you will do as a solo or family project. The club parents will get together once they see the kids’ interests and decide which projects parents or community members are willing to lead. Some projects are also offered on a county or state level. My recommendation is attend a monthly meeting as a guest that will give you a feel for the group. Find out which projects have leadership. Look over the list of projects available(there are a lot) Pick one or two. 4-H is set up where the youth pick a project, set goals for the year then work to meet those learning goals. Record activities, and accomplishments, take pictures to document. Fill out their record book.
In club meetings they’ll follow Roberts rules. The club elect club officers and adult leaders… Each member takes their turn with snacks and giving a talk or demonstration about one of their projects. 4H is a great program. My kids joined as young as 5 as a tagalong and participated through HS. There are many opportunities
Summer camp as campers building to camp staff to camp organizer. Showing projects at fairs, judging livestock, attending leadership training and events. There are many opportunities for every age group.
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4H seems like a great club to join! May I also recommend the Boy Scouts as a prospective activity for your son/daughter. Only 6% of scouts reach the highest rank in the BSA (Eagle) before they age out at 18. Those that make Eagle report that prospective employers/companies, the military, the government all see that achievement on a person’s resume and they usually are on top of the list of hired employees. If I’m not mistaken a 4H club only concentrates on one area of study, the scouting program touches on a lot of areas and allows the boys to see where their interests lie. Sorry for the long reply; I’m just so hyped about the scouting program. I can answer any questions you may have, if I can’t I know where to get answers.
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Love scouts! Are you involved with a troop?
I saw that they recommended we attend a meeting before applying too. March 1 is the deadline for joining up. Talking with my neighbor hes trying to get his son into it too. Kinda hard these days to get kids off the game systems. Well… easy to get them off the games… hard to get them to WANT to get off them.
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I wish my child would be better at being a joiner. I’ve tried but nothing stuck so far. Right now his interest are making his own synthesized songs from sounds he’s downloaded from Splice and planning out the VR game he wants to build. He’s actually quite happy to be doing school from home and has only asked to see friends in person a few times, which I was happy to take him. Having the fear of loosing a parent to cancer and a pandemic in less than 5 years has got to be a lot for a young mind to process.
I’ve volunteered extensively in both GS and 4H. Both are GREAT programs. In my experience, there are more opportunities for leadership growth and age retention in 4H. There are plenty of opportunities to dabble or dig in deep.
As far as project selection, the sky is the limit in either program. Just like anything in life, the outcome is solely based on the effort one puts in.
I guess what I liked about 4H (granted in a small community), it was a collective group of families supporting each other year after year. It was not the drop your kid off type of club. Although that’s not to say we didn’t have a few solo members. If you look at scouts too, it is my observation the most successful kids are the ones who’s parents are most engaged.
I like the fact that both 4H and Scouts have a community service focus.
Both my Girls lived in The Clovia Scholarship House at KSU. Both enjoyed National, state and local level programs. All 3 enjoyed the state exchange program several years. All 3 still maintain many friendships built through out the years.
I would say, whichever program you select immerse yourselves to maximize your experience.
A few of the projects we focused on were leadership, photography, poultry, lambs, horses, beef, rabbits, rocketry, wood working, textiles, foods, home decor, shooting sports, arts and crafts, and ceramics.
MakeICT puts you in the prime place to help inspire your students to explore all sorts of avenues. It is alot of work but sooo much fun!! ENJOY!!
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I agree 100% with your family/parent envolvement opinion. I think all the kids that get involved with this type of youth program benefit, there’s no doubt. But when the whole family or even just a single parent gets involved it is far better. My son and I have been involved in scouts for 7 years. We’ve made life long friendships and experienced a lot together. Lots of community service projects but just as much camping and exploring and really fun stuff over the years.
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I loved scouts. My niece took 4H in Wichita. She loved her 4H and learning how to turn wood and sew… not at the same time though…lol. She still talks about how much she liked it and she is in her mid 20s
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